Trybuna Ludu

Trybuna Ludu
Type Daily newspaper
Format Broadsheet
Owner(s) PZPR
Publisher Warszawa : Komitet Centralny PZPR
Founded 16 December 1948
Political alignment Communist
Socialist
Language Polish
Ceased publication 28 January 1990
Headquarters Warsaw, Poland
Circulation 1,900,000 (1989)
OCLC number 2268743

Trybuna Ludu (Polish pronunciation: [trɨˈbuna ˈludu]; People's Tribune) was one of the largest newspapers in communist Poland. It was the official media outlet of the Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) and one of its main propaganda outlets.

History

A copy of Trybuna Ludu headline from December 14th, 1981 reporting Martial law in Poland
The false issue of the official newspaper of Polish United Workers' Party.

Creation

On 16 December 1948, Poland's primary two communist parties, the Polish Socialist Party and the Polish Workers' Party, were combined to form Polish United Workers' Party. The parties' respective newspapers, Robotnik and Głos Ludu, were merged as well, and Trybuna Ludu was formed.

Significance

Through the 20th century, the media in Poland was entirely controlled by the PZPR, and newspapers were no exception. The contents of Trybuna Ludu and its smaller competitors were marked by the idea of reliance on the party.[1] Being the official party newspaper, Trybuna Luda dominated the market. By the end of 1981, circulation topped 1 million.[2] Despite growing opposition to the party, the number of Trybuna Ludu subscribers continued to grow and reached nearly 1.9 million by the time the communist state was dissolved.[1]

The paper had a circulation of 1,900,000 copies in 1989.[1]

Party dissolution and aftermath

The break-up of the PZPR began on 28 January 1990, just hours after the final issue of Trybuna Ludu was printed. Despite an attempted relaunch as Trybuna Kongresowa, the paper was unable to survive the fall of communism in Poland.

After 1990, much of its tradition was unofficially taken over by Trybuna, a newly created Polish left-wing newspaper. At its peak, the number of readers was a small 50,000, and, because of poor economic conditions, printing was halted in late 2009.[3]

Editors-in-chief

Name Term began Term ended
Leon Kasman 1948 1953
Władysław Matwin 1953 1957[note 1]
Leon Kasman 1957 1967
Stanisław Mojkowski 1967 1972
Józef Barecki 1972 1980
Wiesław Bek 1980 1985
Jerzy Majka 1985 1990

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Gripsrud, Jostein; Lennart Weibull; European Science Foundation (March 2011). Media, Markets & Public Spheres: European Media at the Crossroads. Intellect. p. 222. ISBN 1-84150-305-3.
  2. "Poland: Pressing On". Time 118 (9). 31 August 1981. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
  3. "Mouthpiece of communist Poland falls prey to market". Reuters. 7 December 2009. Retrieved 27 August 2011.

Notes

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Trybuna Ludu.
  1. Matwin was absent for a short while in 1956. During that time, Roman Werfel, Jerzy Morawski, and Walenty Titkow served as acting chief editors.
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